guys i have heard a lot of horror stories about kidnapping...
any advise on how to be safe when using taxis from the street?
can you give me ideas of what fair price would be for journey from one locations to another...e.g. from Banani to the Zia intl airport..or to main female cloth shopping areas (my wife and shopping...)...
normally i would ask these sort of qustions on trip advisor forum ...but their bangladesh forum are not so popular...not enough response from a variety of people, especially consumers...

Originally Posted by akiguys i have heard a lot of horror stories about kidnapping...
any advise on how to be safe when using taxis from the street?
can you give me ideas of what fair price would be for journey from one locations to another...e.g. from Banani to the Zia intl airport..or to main female cloth shopping areas (my wife and shopping...)...
normally i would ask these sort of qustions on trip advisor forum ...but their bangladesh forum are not so popular...not enough response from a variety of people, especially consumers...

from banani to ZIA shouldn't run you over 500tk. (this is some thing like what they can from who ever).
1. do not let them think that u r new in town.
2. kidnapping... hmm never heard of such stories but you might lose your baggage so make sure one of you get on the taxi and the other in charge of putting the stuff in.
best thing is to get a local to receive you.
4. shopping PINK city in gulshan is a place were rich people goes and shop. IMO you can get the same stuff from other places in half the price.
5. go to boshudhora mall which is op to hotel shonar ga and that place is the best for shopping anything... but make sure you start Bergen from the half price they ask... lol

Be street smart. Ask your hotel to set you up with a car and driver from a reputed rent-a-car agency. They will definitely have someone set up.

Banani is quite safe, but again dont take anything for granted as there are muggings that do occur once in a while as they do in Bethnal Green. The distance from Banani (Royal Park/Platinum Suites) to Zia Int'l airport is 8 km. The journey can take anywhere between 35-75 minutes depending on the traffic.

A CNG ride from Banani to Airport/Uttara will vary.... sometimes it can be Tk.100, othertimes it can be Tk.200 depending on the mood of the CNG driver, if its rush hour, and his chances of getting passengers back from wherever you're going to. One way fare on CNG from Banani to New Market, Dhanmondi, Elephant Road, Kakrail, Shantinagar, Motijheel, Mohammedpur, Mirpur, Uttara will vary between Tk.120 to Tk.250 these days. Your patience and sense of urgency will dictate if its worth Tk.250 or Tk.80 for the ride.

Main cloth shopping areas for females are in New Market/Gausia/Hawkers part of town. But its such a pain to go there just for the fabric (due to traffic) that many middle-class shoppers stick to the shops around Bashundhara City, Dhanmondi or around Gulshan and pay the premium for the stuff. When you say cloth, you imply that the fabric will be bought, and later tailored to the individual's shape size and tastes later on.

US State Department had an alert about purse snatching from rickshaws. This is how it works:
A lady is riding a rickshaw and has her handbag hanging from her side or sitting on her lap. A car will sneak up from behind and someone will grab the bag from the car window. The car then speeds up. If the lady is lucky she would be able to let the bag go. If not, she would be dragged behind the car to disastrous consequences.

The suggestion was to sit on the bag or keep it in such a position that it cannot be grabbed. If it is grabbed, let it go and save your life!